A large number of food products are packaged in various types of sealed bags. The examples of such bags are the relatively thick plastic bags known as retort pouches in which meats and frozen vegetables are packaged, the relatively thin plastic bags which contain other types of foods, and the various metal and plastic lined bags which contain food such as nuts. In order to assure an effective seal of the contents and also to protect the food against pests and theft, the bags are often intentionally constructed in a manner to prevent them from being easily opened. Consequently, many types of bags are difficult, if not impossible, to open by hand, and knives, scissors, or other instruments must be used to open them. Even when such instruments are readily available, cutting of the bag at the desired location and in the proper manner is not always achieved. As a result, it is not uncommon for the contents of such bags to be spilled during attempts to open them.
The problem of opening bags is further complicated when children desire to open such bags. Often, the children do not have sufficient strength so as to open these bags manually. On the other hand, parents are often reluctant to entrust scissors, knives, and other sharp objects to the hands of children. There is the possibility that the child could injure himself or herself if the proper implements were given to the child for the purpose of allowing the child to open the bag.
In the past, various U.S. patents have issued which relate to devices for opening containers, such as plastic bags.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,238,753, issued on Apr. 15, 1941, to E. Robie describes a package opener which has a steel strip having one end curled upwardly and inwardly so as to continue into the form of a pointed blade extending inwardly. A cover is hingedly mounted on the other end of the steel strip and extends across the strip to cover the blade portion. The cover is arched so as to extend over the blade portion. The cover is resiliently connected to a portion of the strip.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,969, issued on Aug. 24, 1954, to L. M. Furey teaches a container band severing tool. This tool has a long handle extending outwardly from a pair of surfaces. These surfaces are integrally connected together in the form of a curved strip of material. A pair of pointed blades extend inwardly from this strip of material. These blades are overlapped so as to form a proper cutting action.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,881,520, issued on Apr. 14, 1959, to K. Mito describes a paper knife having a handle with a pair of arms extending outwardly from the handle. A sharp blade is positioned between the ends of the arms and extends inwardly toward the handle. An envelope, or other piece of paper, is inserted to the opening between the arms so that the sharpened edge of the knife can properly cut and tear the piece of paper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,970, issued on Nov. 30, 1982, to Ostroski et al., describes a device for opening sealed bags containing foods of various types. A lever is pivoted to one end of a base plate and carries a serrated cutter wheel which is mounted for free rotation. The base plate has a recess which receives the cutting edge of the cutter wheel when the lever is pressed toward the base plate to a cutting position. The bag is inserted between the lever and the base plate and is pulled through the device such that the peripheral teeth of the cutter wheel cut or perforate the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,031, issued on Dec. 8, 1987, to J. Annello provides a letter opener for cutting off the edge of an envelope. This letter opener has a deformable U-shaped body. A cutting blade is located in the upper wall of the body and a hole positioned to receive the blade is located in the lower wall. An abutment attached to the lower wall serves both as a guiding surface for an envelope and as a stopper to prevent the two walls from binding against the envelope when pressed together. The device is used by placing a corner of an envelope against the abutment, pressing the two walls together so as to cause the blade to puncture the envelope, and drawing the device along the edge of the envelope to thereby slice off the edge of the envelope.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,171, issued on Apr. 16, 1991, to J. H. Horning, Jr. provides a bag opener of a generally U-shaped configuration formed of a memory retentive polymeric material. This configuration includes a first leg and a second leg arranged parallel relative to one another in a first position. A blade member is mounted within an interior surface of the first leg and is arranged parallel to beveled terminal ends of the legs to receive a bag therethrough. The blade member is directed across the surface of a bag inserted between the interior surfaces of the leg members so as to sever a bag positioned therewithin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,562, issued on Apr. 7, 1992, to Horvath et al. describes a cutting squeezer tool provided for a condiment foil pouch. This item consists of an elongated flat handle so that a person using the tool can grip the handle. A mechanism is provided on the end of the handle for cutting the edge of the condiment foil pouch and for squeezing the contents out of the condiment foil pouch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,562, issued on Apr. 14, 1992, to H. Braatz shows a package opening device suitable for opening packages made of cellophane and other flexible plastic material. This package opening device includes first and second plates pivotally connected at their respective back ends. The two plates are biased by a spring to an open configuration so that there is a V-shaped gap between the plates. The first plate has a cutter that faces the second plate. A package is inserted into the gap and the tool is operated in a closed configuration by squeezing the front ends of the two plates together to cause the cutter to penetrate the package. A recess in the second plate receives the entire cutter when the tool is in the closed configuration. Pulling the package from between the closed plates of the tool serves to slice the package for easy opening.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bag opening device that is appropriate and safe for use by children.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bag opener device that can cut the bag from either direction.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bag opener device that can be easily opened and closed.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a bag opener device that is easy to use, easy to manufacture, and relatively inexpensive.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.